Democracys Detectives

Winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Winner of the Tankard Book Award, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Winner of the Frank Luther MottKappa Tau Alpha Journalism & Mass Communication Research Award In democratic societies, investigative journalism holds government and private institutions accountable to the public. From firings and resignations to changes in budgets and laws, the impact of this reporting can be significantbut so too are the costs. As newspapers confront shrinking subscriptions and advertising revenue, who is footing the bill for journalists to carry out their essential work? Democracys Detectives puts investigative journalism under a magnifying glass to clarify the challenges and opportunities facing news organizations today. Hamiltons book presents a thoughtful and detailed case for the indispensability of investigative journalismand just at the time when we needed it. Now more than ever, reporters can play an essential role as societys watchdogs, working to expose corruption, greed, and injustice of the years to come. For this reason, Democracys Detectives should be taken as both a call to arms and a bracing reminder, for readers and journalists alike, of the importance of the profession. Anya Schiffrin, The Nation A highly original look at exactly what the subtitle promisesHas this topic ever been more important than this year? Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution